The Crucial Role of Pre-Press in Label Printing

All those glitz and glam of product labeling often overshadow an important process that ensures success: prepress. Before the vibrant colors and eye-catching designs make their way to the shelves, a crucial phase occurs behind the scenes. Just as a surgeon prepares for an operation, brand owners must lay the foundation for their labels long before they hit the press. Such an essential step establishes the foundation for consistency and quality across every label, order after order.

In this guide, we’ll check out the important functions of pre-press, how to improve the workflow and the valuable contributions of experienced pre-press teams. Using prepress for label printing allows you to appreciate how collaboration between graphic designers and print specialists leads to better results that meet your specifications.

Why Pre-Press Matters in Label Printing?

There are 3 main professionals working together: the designer, the prepress specialists, and the printer. While you may know what the designer and printer do, the role of pre-press might be less clear. You might wonder why your designer’s artwork can’t go straight to the press. The reality is you have an essential role in pre-press! Prepress teams want to turn your ideas into reality, so sharing your expectations is essential.

Before the experts start the pre-press work, they will sit down with you to discuss how your labels should look, what conditions they will face, if they need any protective coatings, what colors you want, and if you have any existing graphics. This way, everyone is on the same page and can create a final product that meets your needs.

Pre-Press: A Key Step Before Your Labels Are Printed

Think of pre-press as a necessary check-up for your label design, similar to how a patient needs tests before having surgery. You wouldn’t want to go into surgery without being ready, right? In the same way, your label design shouldn’t go straight to the press without proper preparation. Prepress solutions adjust your design to ensure it works well with the printing process.

The prepress stage includes all the tasks needed to prepare your label for printing. Prepress specialists understands different printing methods and knows how to modify your artwork. They create a prepress proof for everyone to check, assuring the final labels look just right. Not all label printers provide prepress services, but skipping this step can lead to labels that don’t meet your expectations, which can harm your brand.

Importance of Labels in the Pre-Press Process

It’s essential for you to clearly share your needs for the finished label right from the start. At the beginning of any new label printing project, the experts are asked important questions like what material the label will be printed on, if you’re using a shiny material, which parts should be shiny and which parts should be matte, whether any areas need special finishes like patterns, embossing, or other decorations, and what your color expectations are.

These questions help prepress service providers understand what you want from your labels. Everyone involved in the project will use your answers to guide production decisions. The clearer you are about what you want, the better the final product will turn out.

How Pre-Press Ensures Your Brand Looks Great?

After you set your expectations, much of the pre-press team’s work happens behind the scenes with the designer and printer. Even if you don’t see the pre-press workflow, it plays a huge role in making sure your labels look good and consistent.

Quality and consistency are built into the labeling process and printing issues like unreadable barcodes or blurry text, are avoided. The pre-press expert understands the different printing technologies and adjusts your artwork to ensure it prints how you and your designer want.

Check if each printed label meets your brand’s color standards using a spectrophotometer, which measures color accurately. The press proof shows you a close match of the final product's appearance, allowing you to make changes before printing begins. Having pre-press, platemaking, and printing all in one place can speed up the process.

The Advantages of Keeping Pre-Press and Label Printing Together

Pre-press acts as a quality check for your label artwork, ensuring it can be printed correctly every time. Pre-press and printing are done in the same place, making everything much smoother. The team follows a prepress checklist, which has all the settings needed to prepare artwork for the specific press efficiently. They can ensure the right ink and maintenance are being used, leading to better printing results.

Communication is simpler, as all processes and quality checks are created by one team. Having everything under one roof speeds up the entire process, from design to print. There’s a smooth flow from graphics to proof approval to printing, reducing the time it takes to deliver your labels. For you as the brand owner, this setup means there’s one team responsible for the quality of your printed labels, making it easier to ensure everything meets your standards.

Expertise Matters! Get Pre-Press Services for Label Printing!

Even though technology has come a long way, having skilled experts is still crucial in the pre-press process for label printing. Pre-press department can now predict how printed results will turn out more accurately.

We have seen this change firsthand and have invested in platemaking technology, automated workflows, and the latest printing presses. We even offer a user-friendly portal where you can upload your artwork and approve proofs.

As technology has advanced, brand expectations have also increased. All the fancy tools won't matter if there isn't enough expertise to use them effectively. When choosing a printer, it's essential to focus on their knowledge and experience rather than just the technology they use.

If you're interested in knowing more about prepress printing services or want to discuss your brand's labeling challenges, Alpha BPO can help!